Start from the wage, not from a rate
Cleaning is roughly two thirds labour. The national median janitorial wage is $17.71 an hour (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025, SOC 37-2011), but it runs from under $14 to nearly $22 depending on the state. Two identical buildings in two states are not the same job at the same price.
And the wage you pay is not the wage that lands in the cost. Payroll taxes, workers compensation, state unemployment, paid leave, uniforms and training add roughly 22% for a new employer — more in states with expensive workers compensation. $17.71 becomes $21.61.
What buildings cost
| Sq ft | Per year | Per month | $/sq ft/mo | Hrs/night |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,000 | $32,000 | $2,648 | 0.530 | 1.3 |
| 10,000 | $39,500 | $3,272 | 0.327 | 2.6 |
| 20,000 | $55,000 | $4,577 | 0.229 | 5.1 |
| 40,000 | $93,000 | $7,740 | 0.194 | 10.3 |
| 60,000 | $132,000 | $10,996 | 0.183 | 15.4 |
| 100,000 | $198,500 | $16,556 | 0.166 | 25.7 |
Nightly service at a mid service level, contractor-supplied consumables, no day porter, national median wage. Your building will differ — this is the shape, not the quote.
Small buildings cost more per square foot, and here is why
Look down the per-square-foot column: it falls as the building grows. That is not a discount for size, it is arithmetic. A site supervisor, a vehicle, an equipment set and a monthly inspection cost about the same on a 5,000 sq ft building as on a 60,000 sq ft one. Spread over less floor, they land heavier. Any contractor who quotes a small building at a large building's rate is either losing money or planning to under-staff it.
The three things that move the price most
Service level moves it about 22% between adjacent steps. Day porter in or out can move it by a third. Consumables — paper, soap, liners — in or out is around 7%. Wage assumptions and burden move it perhaps 5%. Negotiate the first three; the last one is noise.
What to ask every bidder
The hours, by space type, that produce the price. The service level named, and whether the hours actually support it. What the cleaner will be paid — a contract priced at the tenth wage percentile will be re-staffed three times in year one. Whether consumables are in. Whether the floor programme is in. And how an unfilled shift gets covered.
If a bid will not show you the hours, the number on the front page is not a price, it is a guess.